A Mid-Autumn Festival family reunion: doing it in style

Family reunions for the Mid-Autumn Festival are a widely observed tradition across China — and cost is no object.

A businessman used a private jet to fly home to Yancheng in eastern China’s Jiangsu province from the northern metropolis of Tianjin, Modern Express reported.

At around 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, a helicopter carrying the businessman landed at the entrance of the Dafeng Peace Hotel in Dafeng City, attracting a big crowd.

The hotel management had to clear the parking lot in advance to let the helicopter land, according to hotel staff.

A reporter at the scene said a big crowd gathered to watch the guest’s dramatic arrival, which also caused a traffic jam. When the helicopter landed a few minutes later, three people walked out, boarded a waiting limousine and left immediately.

The jet owner, surnamed Shu, owns a business in Tianjin, and his hometown is in Xinfeng in Dafeng City, according to one of his friends. The flight took around two hours from Tianjin to Yancheng and had obtained approval from authorities.

“The businessman bought the jet for about 70 million yuan (US$11.4 million), and the driver is an Italian,” the friend added.

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